Marco copying Maduro? Rubio's Nike tracksuit similar to captured Venezuelan president sparks memefest

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sparked buzz on social media after he was reportedly spotted wearing a Nike Tech tracksuit while travelling to China with Donald Trump. His outfit has evoked memories of ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who was photographed blindfolded in the same attire earlier this year after he was flown to America following his capture.

In a post on social media platform X, White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote, “Secretary Rubio rocking the Nike Tech ‘Venezuela’ on Air Force One!” Eric Daugherty wrote on X, “LMFAO! Sec. Marco Rubio was just spotted wearing the Nicolas Maduro "Nike Tech" aboard Air Force One, en route to China with President Trump. Just like Maduro wore when 47 captured him. We love Marco”. The White House also shared the photos, writing, “Full circle moment”.

The photo of Marco Rubio followed earlier images shared by President Donald Trump that showed Nicolás Maduro handcuffed and blindfolded in a grey Nike Tech tracksuit after a weekend raid in which the ousted Venezuelan leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by US forces and flown to the United States in early January. Reports and images circulating online showed Maduro wearing the grey tracksuit at the time of his detention.

Shortly after the arrest, Trump shared a photograph of Maduro in the outfit, prompting social media speculation that the tracksuit had sold out following the viral attention. Posts also claimed Maduro wore size 3XL. Other accessories he was reportedly seen wearing, including a low-cost sleep mask and noise-cancelling ear protectors, also drew online attention.

As the image spread widely across social media, reactions were divided, with some users joking that the outfit could become a popular Halloween costume, while others pointed to a spike in online searches for Nike Tech fleece apparel.

Netizens react to the post?

One of the users said, "He should be the next POTUS sorry JD but it's Marco's time but I do think that JD would be a great Secretary of State for Rubio and I would like to see Tulsi or Sean Duffy as Rubio's VP next go around."

The next said," Rubio has become the MAN that do and be anyone at anytime!!"

Another said,"More attention seeking from adult men in politics. Unprofessional. Larping like he’s Trump without having half the ability to pull of the real thing. He’s always riding someone else’s wave just like back in the Tea Party days.. He larped enough to get into office and sold out. He’s not our guy in 28’."

"Nike actually sued Maduro in 2019 for counterfeiting and settled for $40 million so Rubio is literally wearing stolen intellectual property on a government plane," the next also said.